Live updates: NC governor is ‘only line of defense’ against anti-abortion bills, VP says
Vice President Kamala Harris today met with state legislators to talk about abortion rights and participated in events in Charlotte about affordable high-speed internet.
It’s the vice president’s second visit to the Queen City in eight months.
The vice president arrived around 11:20 a.m. at Charlotte Douglas International Airport before touring a computer lab at the Carole Hoefener Center in uptown, delivering remarks at the center and holding a roundtable event with state legislators. She also visited the 2022 Omega Psi Phi 83rd Grand Conclave convention, a yearly meeting of the historically Black fraternity bringing crowds of people to the Queen City this weekend for its international convention. Harris left Charlotte at 4:35 p.m.
Live updates from the vice president’s visit are below:
▪ Harris entered Air Force 2 at 4:22 p.m. under mostly clear skies. Wheels up at 4:35 p.m.
▪ Harris received a standing ovation during the 2022 international meeting of Omega Psi Phi, a historically Black fraternity.
She encouraged them to help elect two Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, Cheri Beasley in North Carolina and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. Beasley is the former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice. She faces Republican Rep. Ted Budd, who’s from Davie County, in the November general election.
Harris also asked the fraternity to talk to their families about reproductive rights, saying abortion may not be the right choice for every family, but that it should not be the government’s choice.
▪ Harris’ motorcade left the Carole Hoefener Center in uptown Charlotte at 3:32 p.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris talks about abortion in NC
▪ Harris noted the governor’s ability to stop anti-abortion bills in the General Assembly when she said, “Gov. Roy Cooper is the only line of defense in the state House in terms of his veto power.”
Overriding his veto requires the votes of three-fifths of the members in each chamber. In the state House, it takes 72 of the 120 members; in the state Senate, it requires 30 of the 50 members.
Republicans currently hold 69 seats in the House and 28 seats in the Senate.
The following are other quotes from Harris during the roundtable discussion:
- “There are certain principles that are at stake on this issue and in this discussion, and one of them is that everyone in America should be free to make decisions about her own body without government interference.”
- Supporting the right to abortion “does not require you to abandon your faith or your beliefs, it’s to agree that she should be able to make that (choice) without the government telling her what to do. That really is as much as anything what’s at stake here.”
- “It’s about one of the most important principles upon which our nation was founded: freedom, liberty, freedom from government interference in the most intimate decisions that are essentially about hearth and home.”
- Harris said as vice president she’s traveled the world and talked with at least 80 foreign leaders. “When we look at our highest court taking a constitutional right from the people of our country, we must understand what this also means in terms of what we stand for as a democracy, which has stated certain principles about the rights of individuals to be free from interference by their government. So all this is at stake.”
- Harris noted “extremist so-called leaders across the country who are daring to also pass laws that will not provide an exception for violent criminal acts like rape and incest.”
▪ Calla Hales, co-owner and executive director of A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte, said her clinic has seen more than 68,000 protesters on her sidewalk since January 2017, which is twice the number of patients the clinic helped during the same period.
▪ Harris is convening more than 20 North Carolina state legislators and local leaders to discuss protecting reproductive rights.
A White House spokesperson said the vice president wants to convey the administration’s commitment to protecting access to reproductive health care, including abortion access and encourage legislators to continue fighting to protect reproductive rights.
Speakers for the abortion and reproductive rights panel include: Gov. Roy Cooper; Rep. Robert Reives, the House Democratic leader; Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Democrat from the Durham area; Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic; and Calla Hales, co-owner and executive director of A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte.
Affordable internet service
▪ Harris said the U.S. is in a “maternal mortality crisis” and noted that Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
“With high speed internet connection and through telehealth, these women can access live-saving maternal care,” Harris said.
The vice president said she was in Charlotte Thursday because she needed help. Harris urged local leaders to spread the word, whether at Sunday dinner or at a little league game about the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Harris concluded her speech at 1:43 p.m.
▪ Everyone should be able to afford high speed internet, Harris said, and those who do not have internet access should visit getinternet.gov, for more information about the program.
“In the 21st century, high speed internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Harris said in her remarks about the Affordable Connectivity Program.
▪ Harris said she spoke to President Joe Biden this morning by phone. Biden is working from the White House residence after testing positive for COVID-19, she said.
“He is in good spirits, he is feeling well,” Harris said about Biden.
▪ Tiffany White, who works as a digital navigator for the Center for Digital Equity at Queens University, announced Harris’s arrival at 1:30 p.m. White is also a recipient of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
“Let’s hear it for Ms. Tiffany!” Harris announced after taking the stage.
▪ Cooper took the stage at 1:17 p.m. to booing from the crowd as he was announced incorrectly as “Ray.”
“You can call me Ray, that’s OK,” Cooper said, eliciting laughs.
There’s still a lot of work to do on broadband, he said.
“But we are in North Carolina, and with the help of this administration, gonna get it done,” Cooper said.
▪ Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel took the stage at 1:13 p.m., urging eligible households to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides discounts of $30 per month on broadband and up to $75 per month on tribal land. So far, 13 million households are enrolled, Rosenworcel said.
“Broadband is essential for full participation in modern life,” Rosenworcel said. “You need access to broadband to have a fair shot at 21st century success.”
▪ Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt began speaking at 1:08 p.m. in place of Mayor Vi Lyles, who Eiselt said couldn’t attend.
With the help of the Affordable Connectivity Program, Eiselt said Charlotte can become “the most digitally equitable city in America.” Any resident in Charlotte can call 311 to connect with a “digital navigator,” for assistance with technology and internet access, Eiselt said.
▪ Andy Berke, special representative for Broadband, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, took the stage at 1:03 p.m.
He announced the Biden administration is pledging to provide access to affordable, high-speed internet for every American.
“We call this internet for all, and we mean it,” Berke said. “No one can be left behind.”
Harris arrives in uptown Charlotte
▪ Small groups of people waved and took pictures as the motorcade drove through uptown Charlotte.
Harris and Cooper met with three beneficiaries of the Affordable Connectivity Program at the Carole Hoefener Center at 12:20 p.m. Harris thanked them for their stories. One beneficiary said the program could help connect seniors to their families and help them with online shopping. Family relationships were strained by the distance caused by the pandemic, he said.
Harris thanked Cooper for his leadership in promoting the program in North Carolina.
▪ The motorcade arrived at the Carole Hoefener Center in uptown Charlotte at 11:56 a.m.
▪ Harris was greeted by Cooper at 11:35 a.m. and gave a quick wave to the pool. The motorcade left for the Carole Hoefener Center in uptown Charlotte at 11:40 a.m.
▪ A White House official said Harris has tested negative for COVID-19. She was last with the president, who has tested positive for COVID-19, on Tuesday. She spoke to the president by phone this morning. The schedule will continue as planned. The vice president will remain masked following the advice of the White House medical team.
▪ Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in Charlotte on Air Force 2 at 11:20 under overcast skies.
Check back for updates throughout the day
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 11:34 AM.
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